By the time you read this we will have officially left the great state of Texas and if not all the way back to the Midwest Tundra, certainly withing striking distance. With some definite sadness, our winter migration has come to an end and now time to get back to the Intrigued HQ to get caught up on all the paperwork piling up since our departure – that and finally take down all the Christmas decorations ha! As a whole, it felt like a down year for birding in south Texas as there was relatively little to chase and some of our planned checks never materialized. There were a couple of new lifers (future posts) and a start that took us further west along the border than we have ever been. It was really that portion of our “migration” that elevated the entire birding experience and resulted in a rather stunning surprise.
On our last day in Texas I was able to tin a number of missing birds at Caddo Lake State Park (in our top 5 State Parks we have had the chance to visit). That haul stuck me firmly into third place in the top 100 eBirders in Texas this year with 244+3 checks. Extremely pleased with that accomplishment and I do owe Linda a lot of credit for getting me anywhere close to that level – she denies she is a birder, but she knows her “stuff” and Ron will confirm. As you have likely already assumed, third will be my high water mark with our departure. Best of luck to our many birding friends (old and new) that live in or staying longer in the region – this year we even managed to meet up with birders we know from back home (it really is a small world). The birding community down here is incredibly gracious and always willing to get you directly on a bird or relay the latest information – thank you!
I have plenty more to update everyone on, but there is plenty of time for that in future posts. Let’s get you to the real reason you find yourselves here – BIRDS. In honor of landing in the Texas top 5, going with a more literal interpretation of sticking the landing
Hit the jump to read more about this member of a squadron making their way back to base.
South Texas is known for their population of Brown Pelicans which spend a majority of their time along our coastlines, the Gulf and then down into South America. American White Pelicans have a much larger presence across western portion of the US and up into Canada for breeding. When the frisky season subsides, they tend to join their darker feathered kin in the south. Note, the Whites tend to go further inland than the Browns.
Although Cornell doesn’t really show it on their region maps, you will occasionally come upon large flocks..err, squadrons that choose to remain in the Midwest during the winter months – maybe they like how the snow covered ground compliments their white satin coverings.
By conjecture only, it seems like the population of White Pelicans has been increasing over the many years we have been making our own migrations down here. In the early years it felt like the Brown Pelicans were significantly outnumbering their much larger brethren. Each of the birding hotspots would have a small group of Whites (10 to 20) hanging together while Browns were thick in the air, dive bombing the nearby waters. Flash forward to our recent visits and it sure seems either the Brown populations have diminished or the Whites are inviting more and more of their relatives to come join them in the warm(er) temps in the south.
This population explosion phenomenon is quite evident at our favorite birding hangout in Port Aransas – the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center. There were more than 30 of the plump white birds enjoying the waters when we were there last year and that has gone up even more on our visit there last week. I am aware that Browns prefer more deep water fishing, but there are usually good numbers either cruising through the area (or seen working the Pass from the birding center boardwalks) or taking a floating siesta in the center’s calmer backwaters, I do not have an explanation for the inversion of the numbers, just an observation – if you are in a position to confirm or contradict that assertion, please let us know in the comments!
Although the bombing attacks from the Brown Pelicans are a magnet for our big glass, the graceful landings of the White Pelicans are a joy to behold. For one of the largest birds in the US, they are well practiced in soft landings in the water. Best of all, their predictable landing process makes for some great opportunities for action shots. Oh, if you are wondering, the Whites come in, on average, 58 inches in length, 14.9 pounds while sporting a 105 inch wingspan.
To see those butterballs com gliding in on those giant wings and then softly descend into the water is an amazing sight. You can see from the shots they really do not disturb the water that much beyond their line of entry. Once they have brought the plane to a complete stop and turned off the seatbelt light, they fold those elegant flight wings into the body and commence their traditional lazy bobbing in the waves…
Usually with a slight genuflect and a facial expression that implies “Hold the applause paparazzi, I already know how cool I am!”
I have to say, I had a wonderful time photographing the multiple landings of the Pelicans at Leonabelle’s. The lighting was working in my favor as the day carried on giving me a chance to prevent the usual blowouts you get with these white dominant birds as they fly (or float) in and out of the light.
Honestly, I think this particular specimen was having as much fun hamming it up for the camera as I was snapping away. “Hey, how about a shot of my yella pouchie?”
I’ll call it a post there folks as I need to get to work on winterizing the RV. Plenty of cold still awaiting us in the Midwest..hmmmm…maybe I can convince Linda to head back down south…all that paperwork back at the HQ can certainly wait a few more weeks or give Brad a bonus for taking care of it for me. “Hey Linda, feel like ditching those winter coats for a bit longer?”…please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.
Wildlife Intrigued 
Great photos of the pelicans!
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Thanks Anneli, watching them come gliding in to such a soft landing (for a huge bird) was quite the treat. Every once in a while one would come in a little too hot into the group, but they handle it like gentlemen/gentlewomen and life on the water quickly went back to calm – unlike the Gulls that were squawking up a racket thanks to a Tern who thought it would be fun to strafe their heads – Terns will be Terns ha. Appreciate you dropping in Anneli, slowly getting settled in back home and need to get caught up on everyone’s posts while we were down south.
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I always enjoy your posts, whenever you manage to put them up.
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I keep asking Linda and Brad how I ever got everything done when I was still in the corporate grind working – I swear I am running to catch up every day of my retirement (fortunately for me, my days are NOT filled with worldwide critical issues and their managers breathing down my neck to get them resolved)
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Wow! That pelican is an excellent skier. Sign him up for the summer Olympics. Fantastic photos. We are supposed to get the white pelicans flying up the Rio Grande, but I have never seen any. I see plenty of seagulls and ospreys, both feathered and prop-driven, but not pelicans. Congratulations on your 3rd place in the top 100 hundred-birders in Texas. Where does that put you in the placings back home?
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Thank you Tim, sometimes the stars align and you get what you wanted in the tin. Surprised you don’t have more of these huge white creatures out your way – maybe they don’t like the way you cook your fish ha. That third place Texas number technically puts me in last place in the local county competition as I had zero birds here as we left before the new year. On the overall US stats I was ahead of everyone here in IL as you can’t compete with the Texas numbers in this state..ever. I did add 13 birds that came back to my feeders once I refilled them here – that jumped me to 29th place which tells you the level of birding we get here.
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Great set of shots
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Thank you Brian, appreciate the kind words. Sometimes everything tends to go right for you – if only that would be all the time ha.
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Love the pelican landing series, beautiful!
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Thank you Donna – I have to admit I had a number of goes at it as the squadron coming in was rather large – fortunately, I don’t have to show the misses ha. Appreciate you coming by, have yourself a wonderful birdy week.
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Very beautiful photos! I like how the wings have winglets like a passenger airliner has to help with air flow.
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Thank you John, it was quite the sight. Clearly we have learned a lot from these organic wings that we (well, aeroengineers) have been able to translate to our metal replicas. Now if we could just return the favor and teach them how to put tires on their flippers and they’d be able to keep their feet dry when landing ha! Hope all is well out west!
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Exactly! Thank you, birds!! All is indeed well here! Thanks.
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Beautiful photographs! I often see the brown pelicans on the Corpus Christi Bay. When I see the white pelicans they are usually flying in formation overhead. Graceful birds indeed!
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We just spent a number of days in the Corpus Christi bay area hunting for some rarities (only able to tin one of them) – definitely plenty of the Brown Pelicans hanging out there and hunting the waters. I love watching those White Pelican squadrons come across the sky – they way the shimmer as they change their angles of flight is incredibly beautiful. Take care and hopefully the weather has warmed up down there now that we have made it back home.
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It is amazing how graceful pelicans can be. I’ve enjoyed watching them lazily make a long “conga” line in the sky as they meander through the air until reaching a place where they then set down. At times it even looks like one might land on top of another if they are bunched up, yet they don’t. Nice images, Brian.
And the Midwest isn’t so bad right now, as a warmup is coming for a few days anyway.
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Thank you Jerry, you are so right, watching them cruise the skies in their squadrons is a sight to behold. As I mentioned in another reply, every once in a while one would misjudge their landing (possibly the less experienced members of the flight team). This would create a bit of feather ruffling, but they managed to talk it out quickly and get back to calm – humans should probably learn from that. I have to say, the current temperatures here at home are absolutely amazing – mid 50’s today, warmer than some of our days in the south. I know it won’t last though, but enjoying it while we got it. Appreciate you coming by and take care of yourself.
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Thanks for bringing the warm weather back with you. I really enjoyed the landing sequences, I can certainly see where aircraft designers studied these large birds for landings.
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You are quite welcome…we can be bribed to go back and return if there needs to be another warm up later in the winter. I was mentioning to John that we should return the favor and teach them how to put tires on their flippers so they can land without getting their feet wet!
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As long as they can make that little skidding noise when their feet hit the water.
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…and the little puff of smoke!
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What a terrific trip! Congratulations on a truly impressive list of birds.
Phabulous photos!
Pelicans are so fascinating to watch. We’re blessed with good numbers of Brown and White and really enjoy the big birds as they fish, dive, nap on the water and just sit around looking good. I am offically jealous of all those traits.
Welcome home. Hopefully, we’ll get back to some sort of regular blog schedule again now that The Boss has had her second knee replaced. She is MORE than anxious to get back “out there”!
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Thank you Wally! You really can’t beat Texas winter birding – Arizona can come close, but the last time we switched it up and went there first I came back short 40 birds from my usual January count. There is definitely a lot to admire about these “feathered boats” on the water. Must be nice not having to deal with too many dangers being the bigger creatures in the water – still have us and the Gators to worry about, but far less than those tiny Blue-Winged Teal that mush be scared for the life every second of the day ha. I do find it comical that there will be a nice squadron of White Pelicans out on a sandbar and then surrounding them will be all the small shorebirds in the area – like holding court hehehe. Best wishes to Gini for a speedy recovery and looking forward seeing all your finds in the field!
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Somehow I missed this post! Love that you got to see the American White Pelican at Leonabelle. I was just there last week, and am going again this weekend (we purposely picked dates outside the Crane Festival weekend). We saw only one Brown (a Californian, with the red pouch) while there, among that big flock of Whites. The water was only a few inches deep up by the boardwalk and observation towers, so I think that might hamper the Brown’s preferred plunge-diving technique. Interestingly, the Whites would fly in, just as you photographed, then immediately take a sip of water by turning their heads to the side to lay their bill flat in the water. Didn’t seem to be stressing them out, they were having fun splashing.
Welcome back to your home digs, enjoy the feeder birds, looking forward to all your new and revisited southern finds!
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I missed your comment or I would have asked earlier what you were able to find at Leonabelle – that Flamingo showed back up after we left and I’ve been bummed ever since – may have to break down and make a quick trip back there to get that and a couple more that we missed while down there although this upcoming dog agility competition in Seattle is cramping my scheduling this year. Linda informed me yesterday they relocate their monster Gator to a rescue farm – apparently getting too big for the pond as they say. When we were there the water was pretty low as well. The water off the boardwalk to the treatment facility was basically gone and like you say shallow water some distance off the other side. Definitely too shallow for the Brown’s bombing runs. Still plenty of Clappers though so that was good. Snow came in last night so the feeders were full this morning. Slowly picking off local species for the year including the Eurasian Tree Sparrows that usually hangs about in our woods (check their region sometime if you want to see a tiny range – they have slowly been coming up from St. Louis and surprised they found our lot. Hoping to get through my 2025 Texas birds in the next month or so and then the Arizona 2025 finds and then the Florida 2025 finds and … lord I need an assistant hehehe. Thanks for dropping in Sam, always good to hear from you.
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